Method of producing a design on a textile material



Patented Aug. 3, 1954 METHOD OF PRODUCING A DESIGN ON A TEXTILE MATERIAL Gerrit Jan lutje Wooldrik, Enschede, Netherlands No Drawing. Application August 4, 1952, Serial No. 302,609

Claims. 1

The conventional method of printing textile materials consists in that an aqueous solution of a dye to which a thickening agent has been added, is applied on the textile material, preferably by means of printing rollers. The thickening agent and the excess of dyestuif which is not fixed on the fibres, is subsequently removed by rinsing the printed textile material with water.

The process described above has the drawback that the textile material, e. g. a fabric, undergoes a certain deformation so that the reproduction of the finished design is not quite correct, especially if a multicoloured design is to be printed on the fabric. It has therefore been proposed first to print the design on paper and subsequently to transfer the design from the paper to the textile material according to a. decalcomania applying method, by pressing the printed paper and the textile material together at elevated temperature and thereafter removing the paper.

The results obtained by this method have generally not been quite satisfactory.

The object of the invention is an improved process of producing a design on textile materials by the decalcomania method in which the design, printed on paper by means of a printing ink, consisting of a dispersion of an organic pigment in a fatty mass, is transferredin the manner indicated above to a textile material which has been previously impregnated with an aqueous solution of a synthetic resin formingmaterial having dispersed therein a penetrating agent for promoting the penetration of the organic pigment into the fibres.

.gTransfers or decalcomanias of the character indi'cated above are well known. They are preferably provided with an intermediate layer of a water-soluble glue in order to facilitate the removal or stripping of the paper after the transfer. Glues suitable for this purpose are starch glue products, gum arabic and animal glue. The printing ink with which the design is printed on the paper consists of a dispersion of organic pigments, e. g. naphthol dyes, benzo dyes, anthraquinone dyes, vat dyestuffs etc., in a fatty medium, which may be composed of vegetable, animal or mineral oils, fats, waxes and the like.

The synthetic resin forming material contained in the solution or dispersion with which the textile mterial is impregnated may be a monomer capable of being polymerized to a synthetic resin, e. g. a vinyl, vinylidene, acrylic or styrene resin. It may also consist of the components from which resins such as urea-formaldehyde or phenolformaldehyde resins are formed or of water soluble precondensates of such resins.

The material promoting the penetration of the organic pigment into the fibres generally is a material having an oleaginous character, which has a solubilizing effect on the organic pigment.

Good results have been obtained with solutions of synthetic resin forming materials containing an oil in emulsified condition, e. g. emulsified olive oil, castor oil or linseed oil.

Equally satisfactory for this purpose are partial ethers and esters of polyhydric alcohols and ethers and esters of polymerized polyhydric a1- cohols. The last mentioned group of ethers and esters may be partially or completely etherified or esterified. Agents of this character are Well known in the trade and they are e. g. used on a considerable scale in the food industry especially in the margarine industry. The aqueous dispersions of materials of this group are generally not emulsions, but they have the character of solutions or colloidal solutions.

The impregnated fabric is preferably dried before the transfer of the design is effected, e. g. by passing the impregnated textile material over a hot calender. Satisfactory results, however, may also be obtained if the fabric is only squeezed to remove the excess of aqueous solution or dispersion, prior to the transfer of the design.

This transfer is eiiected by pressing the impregnated textile material and the printed paper together while heating the same. The temperature used is preferably above C. and the transfer is very rapid so that generally pressing for a period e. g. 10 seconds is a suificiently short time.

After the transfer has been effected the paper has to be removed. To this end the paper may be moistened with water by which the intermediate layer of glue is dissolved. It will then be easy to separate the paper from the textile material, leaving the coloured design on the fabric. It will appear that the colouring material is firmly united with the fibres and has penetrated into the same to such an extent that the design is also apparent on the back side of the fabric.

The process may be carried out both continuously and discontinuously.

The improved results obtained in this way which are mainly due to the impregnating treatment described above are substantially better than those obtained with other methods for printing textile materials. The reproductions produced in this way show a high degree of exactness, a high colour intensity and fine shades.

dried.

Probably this favourable effect may be explained by the combined action of the oil or oleaginous substance which effects a thorough penetration of the colouring material in the fabric and the insoluble resin, produced in the fabric from the soluble resin forming material, by which the colouring material is fixed in the fibres.

The invention will be illustrated by the following examples. The paper transfers used in said examples for transferring the coloured design to the textile material are of the well known composition indicated in the above specification.

Example 1 A cotton fabric is impregnated with a dispersion consisting of 30% of olive oil, 30% of polymethacrylic acid ester and 40% of water, containing morpholine as an emulsifying agent and the impregnated fabric is squeezed on a foulard. The moist fabric is introduced into a press together with the transfer and pressed together therewith for a period of seconds at a .pressure of 0.5 atm. and a temperature of 150 C.

The fabric with the paper adhering thereto isnow removed from the press and washed with water containing Nekal BX, a surface active agent consisting essentially of butylnaphthalene vsulfonates, as an emulsifying agent or detergent. By the action of the water the paper is detached from the fabric so that it can be removed. At the same time the excess of oil is washed out from the fabric, said process being assisted by the presence of the detergent. The fabric is then dried with the result that the coloured design is entirely transferred from the paper to the fabric and that it is generally penetrated into the fabric.

Example 2 A rayon fabric is impregnated with an emulsion, consisting of 40% of thiodiethylene glycol, of polymethacrylic acid ester and 30% of water. The treatment is efiected in the same way as described in Example 1; in this case it is, however, unnecessary to add a detergent like .Nekal BX since thiodiethylene glycol is soluble in water.

Example 3 A cotton cloth is impregnated on a foulard with a mixture of 30% of diethylene glycol, 30% of a mixed polymer, obtained from an emulsion of polyvinyl chloride and polyvinyl acetate, and of water. The excess of water is removed by squeezing the cloth. The cloth is then calendered together with the transfer at a temperature of 140-150 C. The calender is operated with a peripheral velocity of 10-20 m. per minute, and the pressure is 0.5 atm. or somewhat less.

The fabric with the transfer paper adhering thereto is introduced into a washing bath. The paper is then removed, whereafter the fabric is Example 4 A coarse fabric which is unsuitable for being printed by the rouleau printing method is impregnated with an emulsion consisting of 30% of triglycolethyl ether, 30% of polyvinylidene chloride and 40% of water. The fabric is pressed together with the transfer, e. g. by means of a calender. The fabric with the transfer is then introduced into an aqueous bath and the p per is removed. The fabric treated in this way contains a very exact reproduction of the design.

Fabrics consisting of other fibrous materials, e. g. wool or jute, may be printed in a similar way with equally good results.

Example 5 condensate, so as to render the same insoluble.

Example 6 A rayon fabric is impregnated with a solution of a melamine-formaldehyde precondensate in which 20% of diethyleneglycol monoethyl ether is dissolved. The further treatment is the same as in Example 5.

In all of the above examples excellent reproductions of the design on the fabric are obtained which are very resistant to washing and to mechanical influences, and the printed fabric has fully maintained its original textile character.

I claim:

1. A method of producing a design on a textile material by the decalcomania method using .a transfer sheet printed with a printing composition consisting of a dispersion of an organic pigment in a fatty material which comprises pressing said sheet at elevated temperature against a textile material which, prior to the transfer of the design, has been impregnated with an aqueous solution of a synthetic resin forming material having dispersed therein a "penetrating agent which promotes the penetration of the organic pigment into the fibres and subsequently removing the paper from the textile material.

2. A process according to claim 1 in which the material promoting the penetration of the organic pigment into the fibres is an oil.

3. A process according to claim 1 in which the penetrating agent which promotes the penetration of the organic pigment into the fibres is a material selected from a group consisting of partial ethers of polyhydric alcohols, partial esters of polyhydric alcohols, ethers of polymerized polyhydric alcohols and esters of polymerized polyhydric alcohols.

4. A process according to claim 1 in which the impregnated textile material, prior to the transfer of the design, is dried.

5. A process according to claim 1 in which the design is transferred from the sheet to the sextile material by pressing the same together at a temperature above C. for a period of about 10 seconds, subsequently moistening the sheet and removing the sheet from the textile material.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,909,631 Poschel May '16., 1933 1,936,080 Boyle et a1 Nov. 21., 19.83 2,350,840 Tagliabue June 6, 1944 2,583,286 Albini-Colombo Jan. 22, 1952 

1. A METHOD OF PRODUCING A DESIGN ON A TEXTILE MATERIAL BY THE DECALCOMANIA METHOD USING A TRANSFER SHEET PRINTED WITH A PRINTING COMPOSITION CONSISTING OF A DISPERSION OF AN ORGANIC PIGMENT IN A FATTY MATERIAL WHICH COMPRISES PRESSING SAID SHEET AT ELEVATED TEMPERATURE AGAINST A TEXTILE MATERIAL WHICH, PRIOR TO THE TRANSFER OF THE DESIGN, HAS BEEN IMPREGNATED WITH AN AQUEOUS SOLUTION OF A SYNTHETIC RESIN FORMING MATERIAL HAVING DISPERSED THEREIN A PENETRATING AGENT WHICH PROMOTES THE PENETRATION OF THE ORGANIC PIGMENT INTO THE FIBRES AND SUBSEQUENTLY REMOVING THE PAPER FROM THE TEXTILE MATERIAL. 